Greenfield’s first “Gay 5k” Friday

GREENFIELD — When Sara Seinberg moved from San Francisco to Leyden, there was one thing she couldn’t take with her, so she decided to recreate it.

No, it’s not the Golden Gate Bridge, it’s the town’s first LGBTQ pride run. Nicknamed the “Gay 5k,” the Greenfield Pride Run will take off from the town common at 6:15 p.m. Friday. It will end back on the common, with a potluck dinner.

“When I moved here, there wasn’t anything like the San Francisco Pride Run, and I knew I was really going to miss it,” Seinberg said.

The California race was a lead-in for the San Francisco Pride festival, an annual gathering of lesbian, gay, transgender and questioning people and their supporters. The 5k race is traditionally held the day before the festival.

Seinberg ran her first San Francisco race in 2009, just for something healthy to do, and she grew to love it. Once she and her partner started to visit friends in Franklin County, she fell in love with it, too, and the couple moved to Leyden in February.

Though Northampton Pride will hold a similar parade and festival Saturday, it doesn’t feature a 5k. That’s where Seinberg’s event comes in.

There is no registration, there are no fees, and there won’t be any winners or losers. It’s purely for the sake of fun, fitness and fraternization. Runners and walkers young and old are welcome, as well as those who just want to gather on the common to see the runners off and welcome them back.

Seinberg thought it would be fun to organize a small pride run, and a friend helped her set up a Facebook event page for it. It quickly grew beyond Seinberg’s expectations.

“I though we might have eight or nine people,” she said. By early Wednesday afternoon, 44 people had signed up, 15 said “maybe,” and more than 230 others had been invited.

With no experience organizing a large event, Seinberg was at first flummoxed with the idea of having to apply for permits, clear the event with police and cutting through the rest of the red tape.

She quickly found assistance through the event’s Facebook page, as Precinct 7 Town Councillor Karen Renaud offered to help her navigate Town Hall.

Seinberg said she’s found Franklin County more than welcoming to her event, as well as herself and her partner.

“I think Massachusetts has had gay marriage for so long, most people have come to embrace it,” she said. “Nobody even blinks. It’s awesome.”

With all the paperwork in order and people ready to run, all Seinberg needs now is some cooperation from the weather. With the forecast calling for Friday to be 65 and sunny, she might just get it.

For more details, including a map of the course, visit the event’s Facebook page, at: